Prices
December 10, 2019
Steel Imports Trending Up in December?
Written by Brett Linton
Total steel imports into the United States are trending toward 2.5 million tons in December, which would be up dramatically over November and higher than the 12-month average. However, imports of semifinished steels, some of which are subject to quota restrictions, are likely to come in well under the current trend of 1.1 million tons.
Steel Market Update takes the average daily rate of Commerce Department import licenses for the month to date and then extrapolates it for the entire month to get an early estimate of likely import volumes. With just one-third of the month of December in the books, and the holiday slowdown upcoming, these estimates are very preliminary. The final totals are likely to be well below the current trend.
